Friday, December 18, 2015
Climate Evangelism
True to form, Bill McKibben and Naomi Klein -- the Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker of climate evangelism -- are exhorting their mindless followers to double down on 'activist' charades in the wake of COP21. Unlike the disgraced televangelists, however, the climate opportunists probably won't face a Federal grand jury probe or do any time for fraud. As the loyal 'opposition' of the financial elite, they will stick with the Wall Street script, keeping their devotees busy whining but ineffective in confronting the power politics of their billionaire paymasters.
Tuesday, December 15, 2015
Outdated Assumptions
A colleague of mine once remarked that higher education is usually a generation behind the avant-garde, having institutionalized reforms fought for by the preceding generation. From what I see, this applies as well to the non-profit industrial complex, and to the networks of self-described progressives, radicals and revolutionaries offering perspectives grounded in the rhetoric and propaganda of the early to mid-20th Century.
Much has changed since then, including hostile takeovers of academia, media, and once noble non-profits by Wall Street, in addition to sinister advancements in social engineering through social media. The continuity of core socialist values and beliefs is vital, but they need to be adapted to the present reality to be effective, and that is precisely what's missing in so-called civil society today.
With the hyper emotionalism generated by the Big Business-World Government-NGO triad (what some might call the axis of fascism), democracy and socialism -- arguably the same thing when authentic -- face a firing squad of mindless followers of false hope offered up by the financial elite. Comprehending this new reality requires updating estimates of the situation; analyzing social settings begins with research that sheds outdated assumptions.
Much has changed since then, including hostile takeovers of academia, media, and once noble non-profits by Wall Street, in addition to sinister advancements in social engineering through social media. The continuity of core socialist values and beliefs is vital, but they need to be adapted to the present reality to be effective, and that is precisely what's missing in so-called civil society today.
With the hyper emotionalism generated by the Big Business-World Government-NGO triad (what some might call the axis of fascism), democracy and socialism -- arguably the same thing when authentic -- face a firing squad of mindless followers of false hope offered up by the financial elite. Comprehending this new reality requires updating estimates of the situation; analyzing social settings begins with research that sheds outdated assumptions.
Monday, December 14, 2015
Apocalyptic Fascist Revenge
Chip Berlet discusses the fascistic demagoguery of Donald Trump, as an apocalyptic messenger for the Christian Right, and a demonizing orator for the White Nationalist Tea Party Movement.
Why?
Kathy Kelly reports on the October 3 U.S. helicopter gunship attack on the Doctors Without Borders hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan, in which 42 were killed, including 24 patients, 14 staff and 4 relatives of patients. The U.S. gunship fired 211 shells at the hospital over 25 minutes.
Sunday, December 13, 2015
The Orthodox Radicals
With all the COP21 hype from politicians, professional ‘activists’ and the financial elite, I thought I’d see what the so-called radicals
are thinking. Toward that end, I attempted to engage with two pertinent
discussions. Here’s what I discovered.
I left the following comment on a Popular Resistance article, along with a link.
I likewise left the following comment and link on a KPFA Bay Area community radio article about Naomi Klein, which they did not publish.
I left the following comment on a Popular Resistance article, along with a link.
The choreography of climate drama by Wall Street-funded NGOs has resulted in lots of moral theatrics, but little else. The failure of 21 years worth of lobbying and protesting suggests something more serious is needed. How about organizing for political power, rather than organizing for photo-ops?
And while we’re talking about organizing, ‘civil society’ is not equivalent to NGO; civil society is what belongs to citizens, not Wall Street-funded fronts. Taking power back from Wall Street requires taking over government, from the ground up, not whining at staged events.
Perpetuating misperceptions about the ‘clean energy’ chimera only delays taking our responsibilities as citizens back from Wall Street.They did not publish it.
http://publicgood.org/2015/12/privatization-strategy/
I likewise left the following comment and link on a KPFA Bay Area community radio article about Naomi Klein, which they did not publish.
I find it amusing that the KPFA homepage features Klein and Heist, but you might want to combine them, seeing how Klein and 350 are part of the Wall Street heist at COP21. Read more about the privatization strategy here.My conclusion? The orthodox radicals appear intolerant of dissent, or even discussion. They’ll get along fine with the fascists.
http://publicgood.org/2015/12/privatization-strategy/
Saturday, December 12, 2015
Quid Pro Quo
More on the Clinton Foundation and its influence peddling, with a focus on arms trafficking by the State Department under U.S. Secretary Hillary Clinton.
Tuesday, December 08, 2015
Self Organized
When you're avant-garde, you have to create your own milieu. It doesn't come ready-packaged.
Friday, December 04, 2015
Clean Energy Ponzi Scheme
The ‘clean energy’ Ponzi scheme by nuclear power investor Bill Gates needs cheerleaders. Spreading money around to media, environmental groups and think tanks that supply them with ideas creates a fixed mentality.
The sad part is that in order to speak small truths, which many NGOs do, they have to keep quiet about the big lies. The money they get from foundations like TIDES is sometimes tainted, sometimes not, but always there is the unspoken understanding: for serious fraud, they can count on the usual suspects.
It is, however, well-known that TIDES launders a lot of money for evil people, in order to dominate discourse, compromise NGOs and marginalize authentic activists. Here’s a case study from 2009.
It is challenging to dissect a thoroughly corrupt philanthropic system without offending good people caught up in it. Many don’t understand how they are being used to support serious fraud by the financial elite. Yet, they never question the elite agenda, which shows that money talks in our rave new world.
All cons begin with a small truth, followed by a big lie. The bigger the lie, the more they believe. By supporting the ‘new economy’ and ‘clean energy’ cons, compromised NGOs demonstrate that sustaining privatization is child’s play.
The sad part is that in order to speak small truths, which many NGOs do, they have to keep quiet about the big lies. The money they get from foundations like TIDES is sometimes tainted, sometimes not, but always there is the unspoken understanding: for serious fraud, they can count on the usual suspects.
It is, however, well-known that TIDES launders a lot of money for evil people, in order to dominate discourse, compromise NGOs and marginalize authentic activists. Here’s a case study from 2009.
It is challenging to dissect a thoroughly corrupt philanthropic system without offending good people caught up in it. Many don’t understand how they are being used to support serious fraud by the financial elite. Yet, they never question the elite agenda, which shows that money talks in our rave new world.
All cons begin with a small truth, followed by a big lie. The bigger the lie, the more they believe. By supporting the ‘new economy’ and ‘clean energy’ cons, compromised NGOs demonstrate that sustaining privatization is child’s play.
